“There isn't an artist that's painting today in the science fiction fantasy field who didn't start with Chesley Bonestell,” says legendary science fiction author Ray Bradbury in the film’s trailer.

For decades, the breathtaking paintings of Chesley Bonestell (1888-1986) have taken viewers through and beyond our solar system. He was a quiet force behind the creation of America’s space program. Not everyone has heard of Mr. Bonestell, but in less than two weeks, space, sci-fi and art enthusiasts will converge in Damariscotta to learn more about the man dubbed “The Father of Space Art.”  

Named Best Documentary only two months ago at the 2019 Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival and at the 2018 Comic-Con Film Festival in San Diego, “Chesley Bonestell: A Brush with the Future” will have a special free screening at the historic Lincoln Theater Friday, April 26 at 2 p.m.

“Chesley Bonestell: A Brush with the Future” is the first film ever made about this visionary painter and features rare interviews with him, along with Douglas Trumbull (2001: A Space Odyssey) and Star Wars veterans Ben Burtt, Craig Barron and Richard Edlund, as well as numerous others who knew him or were influenced by his art. 

   Beyond exploring the space art and life of Chesley Bonestell, the film chronicles his achievements in architecture and Hollywood movies. Bonestell helped rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake, lent his talents to the design of New York’s Chrysler Building, and turned blueprints of the Golden Gate Bridge into something that inspired San Franciscans to want to see it built. His architectural skills created movie magic in Hollywood, where his iconic matte paintings appeared in film classics from The Hunchback of Notre Dame to The War of the Worlds. Bonestell’s first space paintings were published in Life magazine in 1944 and led to his illustrations in the best-selling 1949 book, The Conquest of Space, written by rocket scientist Willy Ley.

For more information about this free screening and Lincoln Theater’s rich historic past,  visit www.lcct.org or call 563-3424.

For more information about the documentary, which also screened at the prestigious Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. on April 2nd as part of this year’s 50th Anniversary Apollo Program festivities, visit www.chesleybonestell.com.